As developers continue to invest in downtown Newark, the city is attracting both new residents and businesses. That makes it all the more important to create amenities and spaces that will bring permanent foot traffic during the day and at night, which has become a growing focus for both public- and private-sector leaders in the state’s largest city.

No one infrastructure project has the potential to cripple our economy, disrupt our lives, lower real estate values and drive employers to seek alternative locations than the Gateway Project to expand and repair the Hudson River rail tunnels and replace the Portal North Bridge. Why, then, haven’t our local, state and national leaders yet secured the funding, approvals and entitlements needed to get this project done, despite the wakeup call back in 2012 when Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc on a single tunnel in an area responsible for 20 percent of the U.S. GDP?

Despite a new dose of funding from the state’s gas tax, New Jersey is still far from achieving the level of investment it needs to sustain its vital transportation infrastructure. That was one key message on Wednesday from a top advocate for infrastructure spending, who offered a mix of good news and bad news to a crowd of developers and service professionals.